Ski bindings are devices that are used to mount a ski boot to an upper surface of a ski in a releasable manner. Typically, a ski binding is a two piece structure that includes a front or “toe” binding that locks the toe of the ski boot in place on the ski and a rear or “heel” binding that locks the heel of the ski boot in place on the ski. Ski bindings are designed to release the front of the ski boot, the rear of the ski boot, or both at once when certain levels of stress are applied in order to reduce the risk of injury in the event of accidental falls that apply forces sufficient to endanger the leg or joints of the skier. The toe binding and the heel binding may each include, for example, a spring-biased jaw that holds the respective toe or heel of the ski boot in place. The compression of the spring of each jaw may be adjustable to assure an appropriate pressure limit for the release of the ski boot.
Both downhill and touring ski bindings are known in the art. Downhill ski bindings are used for skiing down mountains. Consequently, downhill ski bindings are designed to lock the ski boot tightly in place such that the ski boot will not move within the binding except when subjected to significant forces that pop the ski boot out of one or both of the toe binding and/or the heel binding. In contrast, touring ski bindings are designed for cross-country skiing and/or for ascending mountains. Thus, touring ski bindings are typically lightweight and free pivoting.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional ski system 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ski system 10 of FIG. 1 with a ski boot 50 mounted to the ski.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the ski system 10 comprises a ski 20 that has a toe binding 30 and a heel binding 40 mounted thereon. As shown in FIG. 1, the toe binding 30 is mounted forward of the heel binding 40, with both the toe binding 30 and the heel binding 40 mounted on an upper surface 22 of ski 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the heel binding 40 includes a locking mechanism 42 that may be used to tightly lock the ski boot 50 in place between the toe binding 30 and the heel binding 40.